Saturday, December 31, 2016

Responsible for creating the voices and sound effects of hundreds of animated characters over a span of nearly fifty years, Frank Welker has garnered the respect of audiences and peers alike for his unparalleled skills as a voice actor. While he has also appeared on television series, variety and talk shows, in pilots and commercials, it is because of his invaluable work behind the camera that Frank Welker was chosen to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 43rd Annual Daytime Emmys.

Now we are officially inducting Frank into the Colfax Avenue Walk of Fame!

Frank Welker

Born in Denver, Colorado, Welker developed a stand-up comedy act in college, which got him started on the concert circuit touring with The Righteous Brothers and Sergio Mendes. He continued with stand up, appearing in places including Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe as the opening act for such headliners as Sonny and Cher, Diana Ross, Loretta Lynn, Ann-Margret and Neil Sedaka.

Welker’s first on camera film role was as a bar fight participant in Stan Dragoti’s Dirty Little Billy. He played a college kid from Rutgers University in the Elvis Presley picture, and later co-starred with Don Knotts in Universal’s How to Frame a Figg. Welker also appeared in two Disney films, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes and Now You See Him, Now You Don’t.

His on camera television appearances included Love American Style, The Partridge Family and The Don Knotts Show. He played a prosecutor in the highly acclaimed ABC special, The Trial of General Yamashita, and as ‘Captain Pace’ beside Richard Dreyfuss’ Yossarian in Paramount television’s pilot Catch-22. He also made appearances on Laugh In, The Dean Martin Roast, The Mike Douglas Show, The Tonight Show, Merv Griffin, The Smothers Brothers, The Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour and returned to an on-camera role in the film The Informant, playing Matt Damon’s father.

His first cartoon job was for Hanna Barbara voicing Freddy Jones in the legendary Scooby Doo series. It is believed that Frank holds the record for voicing the longest running character in the history of animation Freddy Jones. Frank is still doing the teenaged Freddy45 years after he began and is currently recording the latest iteration Be Cool Scooby Doo. In addition to Freddy Jones, he has been the voice of Scooby Doo for over a decade. Frank was also voices of Dinky on CBS’s Dinky Dog, Fangface on Ruby Spears’ Fangfaceand he also played Dynomutt in The Scooby Doo/Dynomutt Hour. He was the voice of Jabberjaw and the voice of Bufford on The Bufford Files, Schlepcar on Sid and Marty Kroftts’ Wonderbug, Herbie on Fantastic Four and seven regular voices on Hanna-Barbera’s Yogi Space Race.

Other indelible characters created by Welker include Wonder Dog, Shmoo , Doctor Claw on Inspector Gadget, including various G.I. Joe heroes and villains, Baby Kermit and Skitter on the Muppet Babies. Also, he brought many characters alive in Steven Speilberg’s Tiny Toons! and in Animatics, including the studio boss Mr. Plotz, and the studio’s questionable “guard” Ralph the Guard. He also played Runt, the sweet but dumb dog, against Bernadette Peters’ Rita the cat; both strays.

His other characters include the wide-eyed monkey Abu in Aladdin to the Green Ghost Slimmer in The Real Ghostbusters. Welker voiced Gargamel‘s cat Azrael in live action/animated film versions of The Smurfs, a role that he will reprise in the upcoming SmurfsFeature Film. He can be heard as Nibbler in Futurama, as well as the very opinionated cat Garfield and the mischievous, curious monkey, Curious George.

Welker voiced many recurring characters in the multiple iterations of Transformers animated series, including eight of the original 14 Decepticons including Megatron, Galvatron, Soundwave, Skywrap, Laserbeak, Rumble, Frenzy, Ravage and Ratbat. Welker also reprised the roles of Megatron and Soundwave in the series Transformers: Prime (retitled Transformers: Prime – Beast Hunters for its third season) and the video game Transformers: Devastation. In the motion picture world he voiced Soundwave in the film Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), and reprised his role as Galvatron in Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), adding to his already large list of roles within the Transformers franchise.

Responsible for a broad spectrum of character voices, and other vocal effects that have appeared over the last 45 years in American television and motion pictures, Welker was listed as the number one “All Time Top 100 Stars at the Box Office for five consecutive years,” not as a box office draw, but in terms of the total revenue generated by the films in which he has participated.

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Losing Debbie Reynolds is like losing a Colorado legend all over again:
the Unsinkable Molly Brown! Being as Molly's house is very close to
Colfax (1340 Pennsylvania Street), we hereby induct Debbie into the Colfax Avenue Walk of Fame,
effective immediately.

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Almost every first Sunday of the month film critic Howie Movshovitz
hosts the screening of a classic movie for the Tattered Cover Film
Series. Films screen at 1 p.m. in the Sie FilmCenter, next door to the Tattered Cover Colfax Avenue.

Monday, December 26, 2016

The Golden Ox of Colorado, once stood at 3130 East Colfax and Steele Street back in the day. Serving the finest steaks in the West. Facilities were available for meetings, parties, and banquets. (Postcards courtesy Jonny B.)

Saturday, December 24, 2016

I have had many a great times here and have seen 100's
of shows. Big names like John Doe from X, to no name bands have played here.
Joe Strummer from The Clash loved this bar. This little hole in the wall bar has
been here since the 1930's; it used to be a jazz bar so I was told. One
of those dive bars that was kinda scary to go into. Ya know almost skid row seedy. It
has its wonderful endearing qualities, like crack whores and bums hanging out
in front trying to bum change or a smoke. Located on Colfax. Colfax itself was
very seedy place, well, not so much anymore but it still has its edge.

Back in the late 80's friends of mine would go dive bar
hopping this was their favorite bar. Why? A great jukebox and Dinky, that's why. He was an
old timer who would make up dirty songs about you and play the piano or take 2
quarters and drum on the bar with them. He even made a theme song for the lair.
Now use the song "Oh Christmas tree" and sing along with the entire
bar.

"We like it here,We like it here, you bet your ass we
like it here.The lions lair is out home, from here we will never roam.We
like it here,We like it here, you bet your ass we like it here."

I think those are the lyrics. There are not many folks that
go there now who even know about this song or this man.

Thursday nights we would all gather to watch Twin Peaks on the big screen and play darts. So here I am feeling like an old timer thinking back on the
good ole days. Those days are over now, booths were torn out, stage was put
in. I like the fact I can sit at the bar and be able to
see the band, the door and well the entire club in a glance. One of my favorite dives. I'm grateful.

During
the alternative rock explosion, several female singer/songwriters rose
to prominence, but few have proved as distinctive or as widely praised
as Polly Jean Harvey. Over the course of her career, Harvey established
herself as one of the most individual and influential songwriters of her
era, exploring themes of sex, love, and religion with unnerving
honesty, dark humor, and a twisted theatricality. At the outset, she led
the trio PJ Harvey, which delivered her stark songs with bruisingly
powerful, punkish abandon, as typified by the 1992 debut Dry. Over time, however, the subtle and artistic side of Harvey has prevailed.

Her 2001 album Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
featured a heady mix of trip-hop, guitar rock, and troubadourism,
earning her the prestigious Mercury Prize. Throughout the 2000s and
2010s, Harvey continually shifted gears (to the delight of critics and
fans), from the sparse Uh Huh Her to the art rock of Let England Shake. (The latter earned her a second Mercury Prize, making her the only artist to have done so.)

To
create her ninth album, Harvey traveled to Kosovo, Afghanistan, and
Washington, D.C. and recorded parts of the album in public at the London
cultural center Somerset House. The results were released as The Hope Six Demolition Project, which arrived in April 2016.

"Rhythms,
in the form of militant drum beats, create a boots-on-the-ground feel.
Guitars, jagged and fiery, cut through the groove like a fist in the
air. And saxophones are raw, dirty and ready to howl… If times are
tough, Harvey seemed to be saying, we may as well go down swinging.”--

LOS ANGELES TIMES

"The
show transfixed thanks to the skill and versatility of all the players,
and the synergy that makes Hope Six… so coolly well-rounded. In all its
martial glory, the record, and the show by extension, speaks to the
many tiny ways that America hides the truth that it’s a territory that
subsists on a dream of prosperity many never live to experience. The
music could be beguilingly sweet, but the message burned hotly
underneath.”—VULTURE

Ignite Theatre celebrates their 30th production with "The Wiz" January 7 through 29 at
the Aurora Fox Theatre, 9900 East Colfax Avenue. Performances are
Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Monday, January 16 at 7:30 p.m.;
Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $28 Adult, $26 Senior/Military, $20
Student and $25 Group (6+) and are available online at www.ignitetheatre.com or by calling 866-811-4111.

The
Wiz is the glorious seven-time Tony Award-winning musical retelling of
L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" set in the context of
African-American culture. With an infectious funky soul score and
lyrics, "The Wiz" brings a refreshing, edgy and extremely relevant update to a timeless classic. Musical numbers include "So You Wanted to Meet the Wizard," "Everybody Rejoice/A Brand New Day" and the ever popular "Ease on Down the Road."

The 1975Broadwayproduction won sevenTony Awards, includingBest
Musical. The musical was an early example of Broadway's mainstream
acceptance of works with an all-black cast. The big-budgetfilm adaptation by the same namereleased in 1978, starring Michael Jackson, Richard Pryor and Diana Ross, has since become acult classic. A live television production of the stage show,The Wiz Live!, was broadcast onNBCon December 3, 2015, with an encore presentation on December 19 of the same year.

Full Bar will be open for guests 21+ as well as The Sophisticates Tea and Redemption Road Coffee

Also find Boulder Organic Soup who will be passing out fresh soup samples throughout the weekend!

JACKALOPE MAP

Find over 150+ handmade artisans to shop from

Get Involved!

Volunteer:
Are you interested in helping out at our next community meets artisan event? Fill out a volunteer application and we will reach out with more details!

Upcoming Jackalope Travel Plans:

Jackalope,
an Indie Artisan Market is also located in Pasadena, California with
our next 2017 Pasadena fair on April 29th & 30th, applications are
open here. We will be back in Denver July 2017, more details coming soon!

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

In Denver, you'll find plenty of candidates for the Favorite Bar On
Earth List along East Colfax Avenue, including The Nob Hill Inn.
Established in the early 30s, the current owner's father bought the
place in '69, taking over himself in the late 70s. The paintings on the
walls are his own creations from the 80s. Like any aged indigenous
neighborhood public house, it opens at 08:00am daily ("so you can start
off fresh", as they describe), features the classic red booths, and
sports a mechanical push-button cash register. At one point in time,
there was a phone in a corner so that the numerous state legislators who
would hang out during the day could be alerted that they needed to dash
back to the capitol building a couple of blocks away when there was a
vote. (courtesy Tim Pogo)

Hailing
from Los Angeles, CA, the epicenter for rock n’ roll in all its
debauchery and glamour, Steel Panther have established themselves as the
premier party band, melding hard rock virtuosity with parody and
criminally good looks. The band has three full-length albums, a decade
of sold-out residencies, worldwide touring, platinum-level You Tube
status and such high-profile television appearances as “Dancing With The
Stars,” commercials and most recently, FOX NFL Sunday.

Monday, December 5, 2016

In my humble estimation the greatest rock band to ever come from Denver, Colorado, The Fluid were originally called Madhouse. After early 1980s
Denver punk band Frantix broke up, bassist Matt Bischoff, drummer
Garrett Shavlik and guitarist James Clower began playing as Madhouse. On
July 5, with new band members Rick Kulwicki (guitar) and John Robinson
(vocals), they played their first gig at the Denver Turnverein German House (about a block off Colfax Avenue) as "The Fluid", which was the only name all five members
could agree upon. The show drew over 400 people.

In 1986 The Fluid released their first album, Punch N Judy on Denver based Rayon Records. The album was also licensed to and released by the German label Glitterhouse. They toured for the next two years in support of the album. In 1988, they released the album Clear Black Paper on Sub Pop. They were the first non-Seattle band to sign to the record label.

[The Fluid] are "one of the best American underground bands in existence." - Phil West, The Seattle Times

Their last album, PurpleMetalFlakeMusic (Hollywood Records, 1993), is still arguably one of the best grunge-era records ever made, and almost 25 years later still stands the test of time and holds its' own with anything released by Pearl Jam, Mudhoney, Soundgarden or Nirvana. The commitment by the band to the material is an all-out rock fight, their wailing and angst coming to a head as the genre itself was about to die.

Looking back, the album may have been released a year or two late to fully catch the grunge wave, and wasn't adequately promoted. Failure for the album to chart, or meet the expectations of the band commercially (considering the quality of the work) would be a reason for me to speculate it being the cause of the band breaking up shortly after its' release.

Saturday, December 3, 2016

The
President spoke at the airport, Lowry Air Force Base, Denver, Colo., at
8:44 a.m. In his remarks the President referred to Maj. Gen. Martin E.
Griffin, Commanding General of Fitzsimons Army Hospital, and Maj. Gen.
John T. Sprague, Commander of Lowry Air Force Base.My friends:
Again it is time for Mrs. Eisenhower and me to say goodbye to Denver
after a summer's stay. This time we leave under somewhat unusual
circumstances. As you know, I have spent some time in the hospital. Such
a time is not wholly a loss.
Misfortune, and particularly the misfortune of illness, brings to all of us an understanding of how good people are.
To General Griffin, the staff at Fitzsimons, the medical staff, the
nurses, the clinical technicians, the enlisted men--all of the people
that even clean out the hospital: my very grateful thanks, because they
have done so much, not only to take care of me, but to make my stay as
pleasant as possible. They are devoted people.
In the same way, here at this Post, General Sprague and his staff have
taken on an additional and extra load, and have done it cheerfully and
in a way to earn my eternal gratitude.
Then, Mrs. Eisenhower and I have both been touched by the volume of
messages that have come in--telegrams and letters and flowers and gifts.
And finally we have been especially grateful. for the knowledge that
over this country and over the world friends have sent up their prayers
for a sick person.
So I leave with my heart unusually filled with gratefulness, to Denver,
to the people here, to the locality--in fact to everyone who has been so
kind.
And I hope that those people who have sent in messages--and Mrs.
Eisenhower has not been able to reach them all; she did her best--that
they will know, through this little talk, that we are eternally thankful
to them.Goodbye and good luck.

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Phil Goodstein has been wandering the streets for 30 years, walking backwards as he tours the city. Among the first strolls he ever conducted was of the Civic Center.

Now he has put down his stories about it. They range from how Denver created the majestic central park at Colfax and Broadway to the artwork within it to the scandals behind it. His new The Denver Civic Center: The Heart of the Mile High City (Denver: New Social Publications, 2016. vi + 478 pp. ISBN 0–9860748–2–9), additionally looks at such surrounding structures as the City and County Building, the Capitol, the Mint, the Denver Art Museum, and the main Denver Public Library. In the process, he probes them from both the inside out and describes their problems and potentials. For those desiring spirits, there are occasional ghost tales such as the presence of a couple of heads floating in tunnels beneath the statehouse.

As is the case with all of Goodstein’s books, 484-page The Denver Civic Center is well illustrated. It touches on the surrounding areas of the Golden Triangle (the section bordered by Colfax, Broadway, and Cherry Creek) and the Silver Triangle (West Colfax to Speer Boulevard to about Champa
Street to 15th Street). The study revives gems of Denver’s past such as the glory that was 14th Street and peers at some of the cynical grasping and grabbing of the corporate elite. In a word, it is an excellent contribution to the city’s past and present.

The Denver City Center lists for $24.95. That is your price, postage and tax paid, from New Social Publications; Box 18026; Denver 80218. Copies can be ordered from Capitol Hill Books, 303/837–0700; capitolhillbooks.com. Or you can come and hear Goodstein rant and rave about the book at:
Book Bar (southeast corner of 43rd Avenue and Tennyson Street) Sunday, December 4, 4:00–5:30 PM (720/443-2227). This will include a discussion of North Denver and the distinctive role of the Berkeley neighborhood. It will also feature Goodstein’s book, North Side Story.

City Stacks, 1743 Wazee Street
Tuesday, December 13, 6:00–7:30 pm (303/297-1440)
A history of downtown is needed. The Denver Civic Center only touches the southeastern section of the area. Here the focus will be on how that area connects with the rest of downtown, especially LoDo

Wednesday, January 11, 6:30–9:00 PM
Everything about Denver
This is the first week of a four-part seminar on the history of Denver. The class will deal with the logic of the Denver street system and the Pikes Peak gold rush. The cost is $15.00 per person. It gathers in a private home at 1330 Monroe Street. (Monroe Street is four blocks west of Colorado Boulevard).